Braised Chinese Noodles (yee mee/poh chai mee) recipe

A common offering at Chinese cookstores or Zi Char stores is braised chinese noodles (yee mee/poh chai mee). This noodle is great, braised or cooked in fish soups. Nowadays, you can easily purchase this fried and dried noodle in supermarkets and I opted for Ping Pong brand Hong Kong Poh Chai Mee ($1.30 for four servings) for this dish.

Quick and easy meal - Salad (pasta salad) recipe

I am always thinking of ways to bring packed lunch from home because one can avoid the lunch crowds and have a simple, yet healthy satisfying meal. After seeing the long queues at the different salad bars around town, I decided to make my own version so that I can include what I love.

Simple meal anytime, anyday

This basic salad uses Romaine lettuce, both green and red/purple which can be bought from a box or bags in hypermarts. I usually peel/shred them and soak them in water whilst I prepare the other ingredients. Wash them thoroughly at least twice to get rid of any residual dirt and squeeze them dry. It is important for the vegetables to be as dry as possible as you would not want the vegetables to turn soggy or mushy when left overnight. Besides Romaine lettuce, you can use organic vegetables or add in some Wild rocket or Mesclun mix depending on your budget.

The greens form the base of the salad and I top them off with some cherry tomatoes and imitation crabsticks to give it some taste. Take some frozen crabsticks and soak them in water until bendable and tear into bits. I also throw in some shredded ham, cheese and roasted almonds. A hard boiled egg can be added to give this meal a little more protein. Other times, I make egg mayo but the highlight of today's salad is pasta salad!

Coffee Chiffon Cake recipe

Chiffon cakes come in many flavours and recently, I decided to incorporate coffee into this delicate cake.

C is for Coffee

Chiffon Cakes

Having bought a chiffon cake tin recently, I decided to make full use of it by trying out various flavours. Thus far, I have tried green tea, chocolate, marble and lately coffee. Chiffon cakes are nice tea treats as they are very light and fluffy and you can afford to be more indulgent with your intake.

The ingredients for chiffon cake are simple and items which you can readily find at home. They include eggs, sugar, milk, cake flour, oil, and cream of tartar/lemon juice/salt (optional). Chiffon cakes are relatively easy to make, albeit more time consuming because of the egg-separation method, which involves the handling of egg yolks and egg whites. For a novice baker, it is a good way to explore techniques beyond the usual "creaming" method of butter and sugar.